“God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.’” (Shemos 20:1-2). These pesukim constitute the first of the aseres ha-dibros. However, the phrase “I am Hashem your God,” does not seem to be much of a command at all. It is just a statement of fact. What, exactly, is being commanded here?
Some commentators take this pasuk to refer to a commandment to believe in the existence of God. (See, e.g., Rambam, Sefer Ha-Mitzvos, Mitzvos Aseh 1 and Hilchos Yesodei Ha-Torah 1:1.) However, this interpretation has two problems. First, it is unnecessary: God’s Authority — and, therefore, Existence — is presupposed by every other commandment. Why, then, would God need to command B’nai Yisrael to believe in His Existence? If B’nai Yisrael are committed to observing the Torah Law, they are, per force, committed to this belief.
The second problem is that it is impossible to command belief. We do not freely choose what to believe and what not to believe. Rather, we examine whatever evidence and arguments are available to us, and the force of these things compel our belief. What we believe is simply not up to us — the act of belief is passive and out of our control. Nothing is gained by commanding something out of our control.
Who exactly is the intended audience of this commandment? Believing Jews do not need it; disbelieving Jews will not heed it.
Ramban (Shemos, ibid. and Sefer Ha-Mitzvos, Mitzvos Aseh, 1) resolves these objections by presenting another interpretation. This commandment refers to kabbalas ol malchus shamaim — accepting God’s Sovereignty — not an affirmation of His existence. An Eternal and Powerful Being created the world. This Eternal and Powerful Being descended into the midst of a lowly slave-people and redeemed them as His nation. It is this Eternal and Powerful Being whom we serve. When we say that Hashem is our God, we mean that this Eternal and Powerful Being is interested in our service. He is not unavailable to us in the heavens or across the sea. Rather, God lowers His head to be coronated by his creations.
The mitzvah of kabbalas ol malchus shamayim is a recognition of the relationship we have with the Creator of the Universe. The first mitzvah of the aseres ha-dibros, which is in some sense the first mitzvah, orients all of the other mitzvos in the Torah: only once we establish God as our King can we then serve Him.